Takuya in the Middle
by Saikura-Chan
Summary: Takuya feels confused when he finds out that two of his closest friends both like him. He know's he'll be forced to choose between the two of them, but how will he? --finished--
1. Caught in the middle

KG: Yay! I finally got started on my second fanfic! I decided to do this one in Takuya's POV, at least for now. Oh yeah and I'm also going to try to make longer chapters and try to make this one longer than my first one. There is a Takuya/? Pairing and you'll find out who the possible choices are in this chapter, but not the actual pairing. That's not until a later chapter I don't own digimon or any of its characters. Tanoshimu!

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--Takuya in the Middle--

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"Takuya! Get up already! You're going to be late for school again!"

Augh. Monday already? The weekend sure can pass you by fast... 

I just pulled dup my covers higher and my pillow over my head. Why does school start so early? It should start at, oh, say 8:30.... yeah that would be perfect...

"Takuya Kanbara! Get out of bed this instant! It's 7:15 already!" exclaimed my mom as she snatched the pillow away from my face and opened the blinds.

"Auugh! I'm awake! Yeesh, don't you know that hurts a person's eyes when they're still half-asleep?! " I scowled.

"Yes, and I also know it's the only way to actually wake you up in the morning. Now hurry and get dressed or you won't have time for breakfast!" my mom replied as she left my room.

I shot a quick glance out the window, another winter day. I quickly rummaged through my closet and found a long-sleeved yellow shirt to go along with my usual attire. I quickly put on my goggles and checked the clock over my bed.

"Whoa! 7:25!? I'm definitely gonna be late now!"

I flew down the stairs into the kitchen to grab some breakfast to go. "Sayonara Mom! See ya after school!"

"What about me?" complained Shinya.

"Sayonara to you too, squirt!" I yelled as I grabbed a piece of toast off the counter.

His only reply was to stick his tongue out at me, oh well. I ran out of the house and slammed the door behind me. 

I ran for a few minutes and the school soon came into view.

Maybe I can still make it in ti--

_"Briing!!"_

Spoke too soon....

I quickly climbed up the school steps and dashed down the corridor, my rotten luck that my homeroom was at the farthest end of the building... 

"Gomen nasai, Tazuna-Sensei!"  I yelled as I ran towards my seat. I wasn't watching my step and was totally unaware of my untied shoelace. Well, needless to say, I tripped on my shoelace and fell face first onto the floor, raising uproar of laughter from the rest of the class.

"Have a nice trip, Kanbara?" taunted one of my classmates.

"Knock it off! Here Takuya, let's get you up first." Kouji said as he extended his hand out to me.  

"Arigatou," I said as I took his hand in my right and held my now sore face in my left.

"You know you shouldn't do that!" Kouji whispered as he helped me up, "You always end up embarrassing yourself!" I blushed with embarrassment, he tells me that every time.

         "Kanbara, take your seat and stop fooling around. Minamoto, you too," Mr. Tazuna ordered. Kouji quickly returned to his seat behind me. "Kanbara, this is your, let me see, tenth tardy in a row. Do you realize what this means?"

         "Um...  that you'll let me off easy?" The class began to laugh again, but Kouji glared them into silence.

         "Think I'm joking, Kanbara? Of course you're not getting off easy! You have detention for the whole week, cleaning the classroom."

         Aaaawww! I hate cleaning. I really should have gotten to school on time...

*             *            *           *

         "Stupid broom! Why couldn't I have just done sentences instead!?" I complained to the empty classroom, which was a pointless gesture anyway since I was alone…

         "I can't believe you were late again, gogglehead!"  

         ...or so I had thought. 

         I looked over at the door, even though I already knew who it was that had spoken. "Came to lecture me, Kouji?"

         "You really never learn do you?"

         I knew he had to be referring to my staying up at night, I just hoped he didn't know why...

         "You really should just leave video games alone, they're useless anyways..."

         He knew... how was he always able to guess what I did? I knew I shouldn't stay up playing video games, but still, I liked them.

         "It's none of your business, Kouji!" I exclaimed out of my embarrassment.

         "Calm down, Takuya. I was just teasing you. I stopped by to see if you needed any help," he cast a glance around the class which was just as messy as ever, "and by the looks of it, you do."    

         I glanced around the classroom, he was right. I hadn't been able to do anything for the past 15 minutes....

         "I guess you're right. Fine, will you help me sweep? I move the broom around, but I don't seem to clean anything."  

         Kouji seemed to light up a bit with amusement at this remark. He placed his hand over his mouth and looked down, stifling his laughter. All I could do was blush. I was so embarrassed. 

         "Stop laughing Kouji! So I can't clean well! Besides, you're the worst cook I have ever met!"  

         That comment did not have the effect that I had been aiming for. Instead of shutting up, tears began to form at the edges of Kouji's eyes and he burst out laughing. I felt like hiding somewhere now, in hole, under a rock, anything. I just couldn't take this much longer.  

         "Are you going to help me or not, Kouji!?" 

         Kouji soon calmed down and brushed the tears from his eyes.  "Gomen Takuya, it's just I've forgotten all about that time. It was kind of silly."

         Kouji, admitting that was silly. He had changed even more than I had realized.  

         "Huh? Whoa!!" while I was lost in my thoughts, Kouji had gone around me and now had his arms around me, holding the broom. "What are you doing!?"

         "I'm going to show you how to sweep, that's what." He replied calmly, his breath causing the hairs on my neck to prick up.

         I was about ready to complain when Kouichi came in through the door.   

"Takuya! I heard you got detention again so I stopped by to-- Kouji!? I thought you said you were going home!" he exclaimed, blushing all the while.

         Kouji quickly let go of the broom and stepped away from me. "Kouichi!? You said that you had some stuff to do after school!!"

         Huh? What was going on here!? 

         "Well, I just decided to stop by and check I Takuya needed any help! What are you doing here!?" replied Kouichi. 

         "Um, I realized I didn't have anything important to do so I decided to check if Takuya needed help. He is _my_best friend!" Kouji shot back, emphasizing his last few words, which he seemed to immediately regret. Kouichi looked taken aback by his brother's harsh statement because he immediately looked at the floor. 

****"I know that, I just came to help him out," he said in a quiet voice. "After all, he's my friend too..."

         I felt uneasy about the silence and sudden coldness between the two brothers. "Um, guys?" they both immediately turned their gazes towards me, making me feel even more nervous. "Um, I just wanna say that I still have to clean up and I am not looking forward to spending the night here." I joked, in an attempt to liven things up. 

         Kouichi smiled a bit and Kouji seemed to stifle a laugh. Success. 

         "You're right, Takuya. All right then, I'll sweep the floor. Kouichi, you clean the windows. Takuya, you take care of the chalkboards." 

         "Sure," replied Kouichi and I replied. I quickly began dusting the erasers noisily, Kouichi silently began spraying the windows and Kouji expertly swept across the classroom. I would have annoyed that Kouji had been the one giving the orders, but right now I couldn't have cared less. I was just glad to be off broom duty and getting help. But I knew I was caught. Caught between the rivalry of love between two of my closest friends.

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KG: How's that? I think I'll start chapter 2 soon, and I certainly hope to finish this. I might take a while to update, but I'll do my best. So please read and review!

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	2. Not what it seems

KG: here's the second chapter of Takuya in the middle! I was gonna upload it sooner, but my computer messed up my files. Waaah! T—T so I had to type it all over again..... Anyway some notes here:

To Animegirl8(): No I'm not trying to torture Takuya, I just wanted to do a sort of love triangle fanfic.

To everyone who reviewed: I'll try my best to keep updating, but I think my chapters might get shorter....

I don't own digimon or anyone from the series

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--Takuya in the Middle-- Not what it seems

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I still couldn't get over the previous day's events. I knew that was stuck in the middle of a rivalry of love between my two closest friends, and I would eventually be forced to choose between them. I got to school on time the next morning, no klutzy maneuvers, no uproars of laughter and no more extra detentions. I just walked in and sat at my desk quietly all day. 

Was I finally becoming responsible? Hardly, I just didn't feel like playing my video games last night after what happened, and I didn't really want to think about it anymore so I turned to my only other available option: sleep. I also didn't want to draw any attention to myself in class, so I just sat quietly.

I mean, like Kouji and Kouichi and it doesn't bother me that they like me, it's just that I never expected both of them to like me back simultaneously. Now I wished that neither of them did.  

After school I headed towards the cabinets, after all, I had clean-up duty for the _week_. I had just finished getting the supplies out of the cabinet and was about to head back towards the chalkboards when I found myself face-to-face with Kouji.

"Whaa!" I practically threw the supplies into the air out of surprise and they came down with a loud _"crash!!"_

"What are you doing here!?" I had obviously not expected Kouji to stay and help out again. 

"Helping," he answered calmly while shrugging like it was obvious. It was.

I quickly bent down and began to pick up the items I had dropped. Kouji did too.  I reached for the rags, only to find Kouji had too. His hand was resting on mine. I blushed at this and was about to jerk my hand away when Kouichi came bursting in again... talk about bad timing...

"Takuya I came to he--" he quickly stopped talking as soon as he saw Kouji's hand on mine. Now I jerked my hand away, I certainly didn't' want to be the cause of any arguments. I finished picking up the items and quickly stood up.

"Arigatou, Kouichi. I sure could use the extra help. I'll clean the windows today, okay?"

"Sure," he responded. He then grabbed the broom, which left Kouji cleaning the chalkboards.

After cleaning, we walked towards our houses together. We reached my house first. "Sayonara guys. Thanks again for the help, I really appreciate it. See you tomorrow!"

"Ja ne," responded Kouji.

"Um, Takuya?" asked Kouichi meekly.

"Eh?" oh boy, what now?

"Well, I was wondering, if you aren't busy this Saturday... I have two tickets to that concert you've been wanting to go to and I'd like for you to come with me."

"Um..." What do I do now!? I really did want to go to the concert but I didn't want to upset Kouji or make him jealous of Kouichi. Arrg! Why did this have to happen to me? 

"Arigatou, Kouichi of course I'll go!" Baka! I mentally scolded myself for saying that without thinking, and for grinning while I did. 

Kouichi absolutely beamed at my response, I had never seen him so happy...

"All right then! I'll come by for you on Saturday at 5:00, okay?"

"Sure..." what else could I say? What's done is done. Kouichi was being really nice to me, I know Kouji can be too, it just isn't as easy for him sometimes.  As they left, I could see that Kouji was looking a little upset. So much for trying to keep neutral... I just hoped he wouldn't act on his feelings of jealousy because of my reply.

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         The rest of the week seemed to drag on by. Kouji still helped me after school, but he seemed sullen now and Kouichi of course, was happy about today. I knew that I had already told Kouichi that I would go, but I still kept trying to think of ways to stay home. I came up with a few, but I would think about Kouichi and realize that I couldn't do that to him. He was so happy now, I couldn't stand to say no now, and he would be terribly upset. 

         "Takuya, Kouichi's here!" oh boy...

         "Okay, I'm coming!!"  I ran down the stairs to see Kouichi standing in the doorway, smiling.... he looked so cute when he did. 

         "Sayonara Kassan! I'll be back before midnight!" I closed the door behind me and began walking with Kouichi down the street. I knew I shouldn't really ask but I had to know....

         "Um, Kouichi... I was wondering... how has Kouji been today?"

         "Well, he was just fine yesterday, and I'm sure he is today... why?" I picked up a hint of worry in his voice as he said that.

         "Just wondering." Maybe I should just shut up now....

         I looked back towards the direction of Kouji's house, but I quickly shifted my gaze forward again. I hoped I was seeing things, but I could've sworn that I saw a brown and blue striped fabric sticking out of the corner of a nearby bush.

*              *               *               *

The music was playing full-blast, fans were screaming and cheering and Kouichi and I were right up in front. I was enjoying myself and moving to the music. I glanced over at Kouichi and for the first time, noticed that he was wearing earplugs. I though that maybe he liked rock and roll too, but now I realized that he did this for me... he just wanted to be with me and make me happy....

My eyes widened as the earplugs weren't the only things I barely noticed. A familiar bandanna stood out from the crowd. 

"Kouji!?" he must have been spying on us the whole time....

"Wha-!" 

Kouichi suddenly collapsed onto me. It looks like those earplugs weren't enough. Kouichi seemed dizzy and looked like he couldn't take much more. I looked around for the nearest exit and quickly began to drag him towards it. I placed him on a chair sitting outside. He looked really dizzy now. I quickly went to a vendor's cart and bought a water bottle. I poured some water onto my hand and sprinkled it on his face. He stirred a little and held his head in his hands, he must have gotten a big headache because he was groaning now.

 I was feeling thankful to him though, I realized how he really must have tried hard to hold out through the noise so I wouldn't worry about him and have fun. I did the only thing I could think of, I hugged him. Kouichi seemed surprised at my reaction but he soon hugged me back as well. I pulled away slowly after a while.

"Arigatou, Kouichi. But don't do that to me again! Kouichi?"  
         Kouichi didn't seem to hear me; his eyes were focused on something behind me. I turned around and realized that it was actually a someone. I saw Kouji, running away from us, tears flowing from his eyes.

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KG: Sorry if I seemed a bit abstract in this chapter. I really don't know the names of any rock and roll groups so I left the concert as just a concert. Well, I sort of have an idea for chapter three, but I'm still deciding on whether to use it or not. I'm also probably gonna start taking longer to update for the next few chapters due to a sudden load of projects and homework. I apologize, but as I've said, I'll do my best! Oh, and I never say no to constructive criticism or suggestions for this story, so if you have any, feel free to tell me!


	3. Explanations and Apologies

KG: Yatta!! I was able to finish chapter 3 soon! Now I need to think about my projects…^^;;

Anyways to summarize, last chapter ended with Takuya hugging Kouichi out of gratitude and Kouji seeing them and leaving in tears. This chapter is shorter than the others, I know, but I couldn't think of any way to really stretch it out. Anyways, please tell me what you think!

I don't own Digimon Frontier or any other season.

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--Takuya in the Middle— Explanations and Apologies

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The next day was pretty depressing for me. I tried to call Kouji, but he would not pick up the phone or return my calls. I even tried walking over to his house, but he wouldn't open the door, he avoided me by all means. Kouichi tried to console me by telling me that it was not my fault and that Kouji would get over it, but I knew the truth. 

I knew that he took my hugging Kouichi very harshly and that just made me feel even worse in knowing that I was the cause of his pain now. 

On Monday I made a point of getting to school half an hour early so that I could talk to Kouji before eh tried to avoid me again. I waited in front of the entrance of the school, now the only way for him to avoid me was to not come to school at all, Kouji wouldn't do that, he puts too much emphasis on learning.... 

I stood at the entrance for ten minutes before I saw Kouji coming. I saw him look my way and then quickly shift his gaze in the opposite direction. I wasn't gonna take this anymore... He was gonna hear me out and he was gonna hear me out now!

I went over to Kouji ad literally dragged him by the arm to the side of the school and I also managed getting a couple of bruises along the way...

"Itai! Stop that Kouji! It really hu- itai!" I just received another punch to my arm. Gee, and to think that he liked me...

"Well then let go of my arm, baka!" this was not gonna to be easy....

"Just hear me out Kouji! It was not what it seemed!" I stopped him from punching my arm again and looked him in the eyes. He finally stopped struggling.

"Fine, but let go of my arm first!" I had never heard Kouji that angry and upset before, I quickly released his arm and began to rub my own. Kouji looked at my sore arm and seemed to barely realize what he had done. 

"G-gomen nasai, T-takuya! I didn't mean to hurt you... yurushite kudasai!" 

I looked at his eyes and I knew that he was being sincere, my arm was aching and hurt, but I knew that it was probably nothing compared to the pain I must have caused him...

"Don't worry about it, Kouji. I forgive you, but I know you didn't really mean to do it anyways. You were just upset; I should be the one asking _you_ to forgive _me_... so will you?"

Kouji looked a little better now but I knew he was still hurting inside. "Of course, Takuya. But really, I feel bad about everything I did, following you and all on Saturday... I just don't want to lose you to anyone; even if it's Kouichi, but I don't want to hurt him either... he's already had more than enough hardships of his own. But really, he's so happy when he's with you. When I saw you hug Kouichi, I couldn't take it..." he bit his lip as he thought, "I just ran..."

"Kouji, I know this isn't easy for you, or Kouichi. Trust me; it isn't any easier on me... I care about both of you and I don't want to hurt either one of you! Now I'm in the middle of this, I'm the one who has to choose," I closed my eyes, "I feel like this is like some weird game! I don't want play or finish it because I know someone is going to end up being hurt in the end!" 

My eyes started brimming with tears as I said this. These were the thoughts that kept on torturing me, "someone will be hurt...I don't want that...I don't..." I began to sob into Kouji's chest uncontrollably. He put his arms around me and began to rub my back. I just kept on sobbing until I felt better. I looked back up into Kouji's eyes and blinked away my last few tears which he wiped away with his hand. 

"Takuya, I'm sure that it'll be okay. If you so end up choosing, one of us will be in pain, but I'm sure we will be able to be happy for each other and will find comfort for our pain."

He said that, but I still thought it would be unfair. One of my friends would not be happy, but I also knew that there was no other way... I finally got up and felt that things would turn out okay. For every problem, there is a solution. 

The first bell rang and we quickly headed off for class. 

Kouichi came to our classroom right after school looking concerned, but he seemed relieved when he saw that Kouji and I were talking again. I offered to buy ice-cream so we headed for the ice-cream parlor nearby and ordered what we wanted. Kouichi got a black cherry ice-cream, Kouji asked for blueberry and I got a strawberry cone for myself. We began to head for our homes now and were waiting for a red light to change. 

We waited for a full five minutes for the light to finally change. We were about halfway across the street when we heard police sirens. That's when we noticed the green car speeding towards us, tailed by the police. Kouji quickly pushed Kouichi to safety. He was about to do the same to me. I beat him to it.

I was about to run to safety when the car suddenly rammed into me. I heard the brakes screech as I was viciously knocked to the pavement. My whole body screamed out in pain but for some reason, I couldn't. I lay there on the pavement as I listened to the police trying to call an ambulance. 

"Takuya!!!" Kouji, Kouichi they were okay. I tried to open my eyes, but it hurt so much... I finally managed to catch a glimpse of Kouji and Kouichi running towards me as I felt the world slip away from me and my world went black...

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KG: Just to any of you who are wondering, no, Takuya's not going to die. I wouldn't let that happen to him right now so don't hate me. I now I said that I was gonna take longer, but I just can't seem to keep away from the computer now... writing has become so addictive. 

Takuya, Kouji, Kouichi: ::Sweatdrop::

KG: ::coughs:: um, so anyways, please read and review


	4. Hospitalized

KG: Konnichi/komban wa! (whatever your situation is) I know some of you might be a little surprised by what happened last chapter. I'm surprised no one has really gotten mad at me for ending it like that.... Just to say, I don't own Digimon Frontier or any other anime. 

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--Takuya in the Middle—Hospitalized

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_         "Beep, Beep....."_

What...? 

         Where am I....? 

         My head was throbbing with pain as I opened my eyes and looked around. I'm in a bed... why? And why am I wearing this weird outfit? 

         Wait a minute... curtains around the bed? I'm in a hospital... I held my face in my hands and realized that my left cheek hurt and I had a bandage on it. My head wouldn't stop hurting. What had happened to me? I closed my eyes and tried to think. 

         I recalled sirens... police sirens. Next came a feeling of worry then a memory of immense pain as I landed on the ground. Two voices called out my name..... 

         "Kouji, Kouichi.... they're ok..." I remembered now... I got hit by a green car. I opened my eyes. But my friends were safe and that was all that mattered to me now.

         I sighed and lay back to rest my head on the pillow... I felt so tired now...

         "Oh! You've finally come around Mr. Kanbara," Exclaimed a nurse who had just walked in. 

'Mr. Kanbara'? I couldn't stand that...

         "Just call me Takuya, please." 

         The nurse smiled, "okay then, Takuya. You have some friends have been terribly worried about you. It's 9:00 a.m. now, so they're at school, but they said that they would come visit you afterwards. Your Family was also here, they'll probably come later today. I'll go bring you some breakfast, and then you should get some rest. That was a really noble thing you did for your friends, they're very lucky to have you."

         "Okay then," then the nurse turned and left me alone. I put my hand to my head as I let the information sink in.  9:00 a.m.? That meant that I had been here for about 17 hours...   

         The nurse returned with a tray held in her hands. She placed a small sort of table on the bed then placed the tray on top of it. "If you need anything, just let me know. I'll be just down the hall." She then left again.

         I looked at the food set on the tray. There was a bowl of cereal, a bagel and a cup of milk. Heh, and I always thought that hospital food would taste worse than the school lunch. I began to eat the cereal then the bagel with the milk. After I was done, I placed the table and tray on the table next to my bed and tried to go to sleep. 

*          *        *        *

"Takuya! You're okay!!"  

They're here already here? But I'm still sleepy...Huh? wait a minute. That wasn't Kouji or Kouichi's voice, that was...

"Izumi!?"

"Yeah, of course it's me, all of us are here! Kouichi and Kouji told us what happened..." she motioned towards the twins beside her. "You really had us worried." 

         "We came to see you yesterday, but you were out! Your mom and Shinya stopped by too." piped up Tomoki.

         "Yeah, the nurse told me this morning. Thanks guys."

         "So, have you had any hospital food yet?" questioned Junpei.

         "Yeah."

         "Was it horrible?" Junpei asked, all while making a face.

         "Yeah, it tasted like medicine... it even looked bad!" I joked while making faces, causing laughter from everyone. They all stayed for a while and talked a bit. At about 4 o'clock, Izumi, Junpei and Tomoki left, leaving me alone to talk to Kouji and Kouichi. Kouji looked a bit sad now as he sat in the chair next to me.

         "Takuya, I-I'm sorry..." he hung his head and looked at the floor now.

         "Sorry for what?" 

         "I should've moved quicker to push you out of the way... Kouichi was easy to push since he was in front of me but I was going to ge-..."

         "Baka."

         "What?" now he looked at me in the eyes, confusion written on his face.

"I knew that you were gonna push Kouichi first. I also knew, you being the way you are, you were gonna push me next.  That's why I got you out of the way. I just took too much time in getting myself out of the way, that's why I got hit."

"But T-Takuya..."

"No buts, Kouji. I pushed you, so you couldn't have done anything. It's not your fault so stop blaming yourself for it."

Kouichi walked over to Kouji and put a hand on his shoulder. "He's right, Kouji. I wanted to help as much as you did, but I couldn't either... He's all right and that's all that matters now."

         "You guys are right, but I still wish I could've helped..." 

         "Stop worrying about it, I'll be out of here by tomorrow," both brothers stared at me. 

         "What!? All I got were some cuts and bruises, nothing really serious..."

         "But you still got knocked out for 17 hours, Takuya! What if you had a concussion or something?" Kouichi exclaimed. 

         "Well, they can check me tomorrow and then let me go home." 

But maybe I can still take some extra time off from school I though with a grin.

         "They are going to check, Takuya. I asked the doctors about it and they said that as soon as they are sure you have no serious injuries, you can go home." a smile began to form on Kouji's lips, "They also said that given that you have no other injuries, you can go to school as soon as you can go home."

         "AAAAW!"  He always knew what I was thinking... so much for that...

         "Sorry Takuya, looks like you won't be missing school after all," put in Kouichi.

         Great, even Kouichi knew what I thought...

         "So if all turns out okay, we'll see  you in school by Thursday!" he added, smiling. 

         I couldn't help but notice just at that moment how my mind was drifting back to the conversation Kouji and I had had yesterday....

         _'I just don't want to lose you to anyone; even if it's Kouichi, but I don't want to hurt him either... he's already had more than enough hardships of his own. But really, he's so happy when he's with you...'  _

         Kouichi had been through a lot of pain, and the last thing he needed was some more. As I looked at Kouichi right now, and felt happy that he was happy...

         "Takuya? Takuya!!" 

         "Whaa!! That hurts, Kouji!!" 

         "Well, you were zoned out right now.... you weren't listening to me. What else could I have done?" 

         Well, I don't know, but you sure didn't have to yell in my ear!"  He looked at me for a few seconds, and then he lowered his head. How come I can never tell what he's thinking? 

         "Takuya, I'll go home now, but I'll stop by your place tomorrow to see how you're doing. Ja ne."  Then he walked out and left me with Kouichi. Why did this seem familiar? Wait, reacted in a similar way to when he saw me with Kouichi were at the concert. But what had I done now?

         "Kouichi, when I was zoned out, did I do anything?" 

         "Well, you were smiling and seemed to be staring at that picture on the wall," he pointed to a picture behind him, which displayed a brilliant sunset.

         I immediately mentally smacked myself. That was it; I was subconsciously staring at Kouichi! Kouji being as observant as he was noticed of course... way to go goggle head. I was just lucky Kouichi didn't know about it though...

"Kouichi, you should get home now too. Besides. I'm sure that English teacher of yours left some other long essay to do, ne?"

         "You're right! I need to get started on it now, see you tomorrow then, Takuya!" Then he ran out the door, a smile still on his face.

As soon as he was out, I laid back into the bed and placed my fist on my forehead. 

         Why did this have to happen now?

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KG:I guess it might seem a little more definite of which way this is going to go now. Anyways, until the next chapter, sayonara.


	5. What to do?

KG: Hello! Ok, I read the reviews and I noticed that people just got more confused by the last chapter.... gomen, I apologize for that. Don't worry, things will clear up in this chapter ^^;;I don't own digimon.

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--Takuya in the middle--What to do?

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My family stopped by to see me later that night. My mom was happy of course that I had miraculously survived without any broken bones, Shinya had been scared that I would have died and my dad was just glad that I was awake and not in a coma.

They stayed for a while and asked me how I was feeling before they left to go home, leaving me to rest for the night. 

I laid in bed trying to sort out my thoughts. Why did I keep doing things like that? No matter what, I always seemed to do something to hurt Kouji without meaning to. I realized now that I liked Kouichi, but I didn't mean to show it show so much. I know that I like it when Kouichi is happy; especially after everything that he had been through.... but I wanted Kouji to be happy too. 

"How can I tell him how I feel without hurting Kouji?" I felt strange as I said that out loud, especially because there was no one to answer me. 

"Tell who how you feel?" great, it was the nurse from this morning...

"How come you're still here? You work here all day?" 

"Well, I like helping people, so I like my job and work here most of the time," figures... "But I'm sorry if I bothered you. I just came to make sure you were okay when I heard you talking. By the way, is the person you like named Kouichi?"

I immediately felt myself go red in the face, "How did you know?"

"Well, you kept on mentioning that name when you were unconscious, but I thought that it was a family member at first."

"Did I say that when my friends came to see me?" If Kouji had heard me say that, I would never forgive myself.....

"No, you actually stopped saying his name a while before they came in." 

I immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Gee, I scare myself sometimes... 

"Was Kouichi with your friends that day?"

"Yes, he told me today that he came, he's the boy with the short blue hair."

"Yes, I remember him, he has a twin brother. They both were extremely worried about you. Kouichi seems to be a very kind and thoughtful person."

"He is."

"Then what's the problem with telling him how you feel? Are you worried about he will feel?"

"No." I paused, debating whether I should tell the nurse about my problems or not. I would probably feel better about telling her and maybe she could help me out. "The problem is that his brother, Kouji, likes me too."

"Ah, I see," she sat down on the chair next to me. "So you now you feel confused because you don't want to hurt either one of them by choosing, ne?"

"Yes, that's it." I already began to feel better.

"Well, all I can say is that Kouji, Kouichi and you seem to be very close friends and I think that no matter what the outcome is, you guys will be there for each other and that things will turn out to be okay between you. There probably will be sadness, but it won't last very long."

"Arigatou," I knew what she had told me was true and I had been aware of it before, but she said it in a way that actually got through to me and eased my worries a bit. "Do you talk to many patients here?"

"Yes, I studied psychology and I like getting to know people." She got up to leave, "I'm glad I could help you Takuya, I'll see you in the morning to bring you breakfast, just get some rest now."

"Okay, oyasumi nasai," I began to think again, but this time the thoughts didn't feel as stressful as before. I knew that Kouji knew that I liked Kouichi. He was just waiting for me to actually say it to confirm his thoughts. I just could not figure out how he would react to my confession...

'....but I'm sure we will be able to be happy for each other and will find comfort for our pain...' 

Kouji said that, but had he really meant it? Was he trying to tell me not to worry? I think that he was, he probably had known by then that I would like Kouichi. He still felt bad about it, but he didn't want to say anything. 

I felt tired now.... I closed my eyes. I felt troubled, but not as much as before, I hoped that by tomorrow, everything would end.

* * * *

The doctors ran the tests on me and were surprised to find nothing. I felt fine, but I was also surprised at the fact that I had survived the whole thing. Maybe all the fighting and the time in the digital world had made me stronger than I thought, either that or I was just extremely lucky... 

I saw the nurse again after the tests, I thanked her again for talking to me last night. 

"Just glad I could help."

I ate my breakfast, soon after the doctors told me that they had contacted my mother and that she would come around to take me home at around noon. I decided to think about what I would say to Kouji and Kouichi during my extra time. I thought it over many times and finally decided on what to say. My mom arrived about a half an hour earlier than the doctors had said. Apparently, she was so glad I was okay and she couldn't wait to come and take me home. 

Before I left, I made sure to say good bye to the nurse. Then, I was on my way home. Shinya wouldn't get home until later and dad always worked until around 6 o'clock so it was just me and my mom until then. Once we got home, she prepared lunch and we ate together. 

"How was the hospital?" she asked.

"Just fine, one of the nurses was really nice. She talked to me so I wasn't bored..." 

"I still can't believe that you're okay.... I mean I'm glad and all, but it really is rather surprising that you didn't even get any broken bones."

Tell me about it.....

"Maybe I'm just really lucky; it just wasn't my time yet..." I definitely believed in fate and destiny now.

"Yes," she hugged me really tightly, squeezing the air out of me.

"Mom! You're gonna squeeze me to death!!" She loosened her grip on me and smiled. 

"I'm sorry Takuya, it's just I'm so glad." How many times had she said that already?

"You can go rest now. I'll be here if you need anything."

"Well, could you tell me when Kouji and Kouichi come over?" I was pretty sure that they would come right after school, but still I asked her just in case. 

"Sure thing." 

I walked up to my room and settled down in front of the TV screen, there was one other thing I had been wanting to do. I turned the TV and Nintendo on and just settled down to play my video games. 

I knew what I would do when Kouichi and Kouji came by...

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KG: That should've cleared things up. Don't get me wrong, I looove Takouji, but some people asked me to write a Takuichi fanfic from my last story so I had a hard time choosing. I like Takuichi too; I think that Takuya and Kouichi look kind of cute together.... Anyways, I think I'll wrap up the story on the next chapter. Sayonara!


	6. Where the Game Ended

KG: hello! Me again, I noticed how so many people wanted this to be a Takouji, but I had really planned it to be Takuichi since chapter 2, gomen. But I thought that there should be some more Takuichi's, I've only read about 5 or so. I love Takouji myself but I wanted to try something different. Okay, enough of my talking, here's the last chapter.

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--Takuya in the Middle—Where the Game Ended

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         I played my video games for a couple of hours. I hadn't forgotten about Kouji and Kouichi, I just felt the need to unwind and relax for a while. 

         I was about to beat my own high score when I was suddenly tackled to the floor. The control was in my hand, so the Nintendo crashed to the floor, pulling the plug out of the wall and causing it to turn off.

         "Niisan!! I'm so glad you're finally home!"  Shinya, of course.

         Given any other time I would have complained about him ruining my chance to beat my score, but right now...

         "Hey, Shinya! I just got back from the hospital, and I'm not counting on going back so soon!" I knew he couldn't really hurt me, but I just wanted to tease him a little. I tickled him in the ribs until he rolled off of me. He looked up at me; tears were sprouting at the edges of his eyes. Uh-oh.... 

         He immediately threw himself on top of me and the tears began flowing from his eyes. "No! I don't want you to go back!! Gomen nasai! I missed you so much niisan!" awww, he missed me a lot.... I hadn't mean to upset him...

         "Gomen, Shinya. I didn't mean it. I was just kidding... I really am just fine."

         He looked up at me, his tear-streaked face lined with perplexity, "You mean it?"

         "Yes, I really mean it."

         "GOOD!! I was lonely without you!" He wiped his face with his arm.

         "Yeah, well you should go do your homework already," I pulled him off of me.

         "Okay then. By the way, kassan told me to tell you that Kouji's here," he then got up and left to his room.

         He was here already? What did he do, run? And what about Kouichi? Was he here too?

         I got up, put the Nintendo in its place and walked downstairs. Sure enough, I saw Kouji sitting on our couch, but not Kouichi. 

         "Hey there, Kouji. Where's Kouichi?"

         "I ran here, he's probably looking for me or walking here now," figures... "I need to talk to you alone Takuya." 

         "I need to talk to you too, Kouji." He stood up and walked over to me, he stopped a few inches away. I blinked. What was he going to do? 

         He threw his arms around me, and I heard him manage to choke out a few words, "I want you to go with Kouichi." 

         He did? I put my arms around him, not sure if I had heard him right. "Kouji, do you really mean it?"

         "Yes," he pulled away from me and I saw his eyes were brimming with tears, "I want you and Kouichi to be together. I know you like him back, Takuya. Don't you?"  I knew he had noticed....

         I hesitated; I didn't think that Kouji would have told me to do that; I had not expected this to happen at all.

"Yes, I do like him. Gomen, Kouji."

         He buried his face in my shirt and I felt his tears soak it, "I don't know why it had to be him. But I know that it is, and there's nothing I can do to change it. So I'll just get out of your way. After all, it's like they say; if you really care about someone, then you should be willing to let them go. If it makes them happy..." I put my arms around him again in an effort to comfort him.

         "Kouji... I... Arigatou." 

         "Yeah..." he pulled his face away from my shirt and looked me in the eyes, "I know that it won't do any good to try to get in the way, so the best thing I can do is to support you two and be happy for you. Besides, I'll still be your best friend, ne?" 

         "Of course you will. That's never going to change."

         "It better not," he said, wiping his eyes.

_         "Ding-dong!!"_

Kouji looked over at the door, "that must be Kouichi."

         "I'll go get it," I walked over to the door. Sure enough, Kouichi was standing outside.

         "Gomen, Takuya! I was looking for Kouji all over school but I couldn't find him. I guess he went ho-"

         "I'm right here, Kouichi." Kouichi looked over my shoulder and saw Kouji standing in the middle of the living room.

         "Kouji? You left me behind looking for you and ran over here? Why?"

         "Because I needed to tell Takuya that I wanted you two to be together! He likes you, Kouichi! That's why!" He responded, not even looking at Kouichi.

         Kouichi turned to me, "Is that true?"

         "Yes.... I do like you, Kouichi. Kouji did leave you at school, but he did it to come and tell me that he wanted me to be with you. He wanted you and me to be happy, so he told me that I should...."

         Kouichi broke out in a smile and instantly hugged me. I was a little surprised by his reaction, but soon returned his hug. I looked over at Kouji and I noticed that his face was smiling, but his eyes showed a deep sadness... he really cared a lot about Kouichi's happiness, as well as mine. I couldn't help but to continue worrying about him....

         Kouichi then let go of me and hugged Kouji, who was taken off-guard by this reaction. "Arigatou, Kouji! You don't know how much this means to me!!"

         I noticed that some of the sadness in Kouji's eyes disappeared when he heard Kouichi say that.

         "Of course I know, Kouichi..."         

I knew then that he was gonna be okay and I could stop worrying....

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Kouichi and I began to spend more time together and eventually began to go out. We made sure not to leave Kouji out of our fun times either. He had done us a great favor and so we made sure that he had fun too. He was sad for a while, but I soon noticed that his sadness was gone. He was truly happy for Kouichi and me. I just hoped that he would soon find someone he would love too, he really deserved to... 

         I remembered how I had said that I had felt that this whole experience made me feel like I was caught in some weird game. Well, that day was where the game ended.

---Owari---

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KG: I finished! I really wanted Kouji to be happy later on, so I guess it eventually worked out into this. He supports Takuya and Kouichi and gets over Takuya eventually. I guess it probably could've been better... but tell me what you think.       


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